J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatterer Of Worlds

Description for J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER: SHATTERER OF WORLDS by Peter Goodchild:

This book is the history of an extraordinary man, the history of the development of the first nuclear weapon, and the history of a decade of accusation.

Peter Goodchild has used extensive documentation, now available for the first time under the Freedom of Information Act, and many interviews with Oppenheimer's surviving friends and colleagues---and enemies as well---to narrate the story of a modern version of Faustian man.

Oppenheimer's life had four phases. As a brilliant young physicist at the University of California, he was closely involved with communists and communist activities. His wife, his girlfriend, and his brother were all either part members or closely allied. He gave one-fifth of his professorial salary to the party.

A great change came over him when he was appointed director of the Los Alamos project to produce an atomic bomb. He seemed to drop all political interest and to immerse himself in the enormously difficult effort to develop a weapon that would ensure victory for the United States. but, having done so, he was appalled at the result.

That crisis of conscience, along with his old affiliations, led to his "trial" before an AEC security committee, his anguished defense, and his final disgrace. Though later administrations tried to make up for the injustices, Oppenheimer lived the rest of his life with a burden of adversity.